The first Syria peace talks for two years were a "complete failure" before they started on Friday, a Western diplomat said, after the United Nations announced it would press ahead with them despite an opposition boycott.

Many voters living in areas considered opposition strongholds in Bahrain ignored boycott calls again as they cast their ballots in the second round of polls yesterday (November 29), a report said.
They headed to 12 polling station

Two opposition groups, including Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, will not contest the upcoming parliamentary and municipal elections.
A third society could also follow suit in a move described by Sunni group

A boycott by some opposition Islamists and populist politicians may help liberals and independents in Kuwait's election on Saturday, but there are signs voters are flagging as they go to the polls for the sixth time in seven years.

Kuwaitis voted on Saturday in a divisive parliamentary election held under new polling rules that triggered an opposition boycott of the ballot and mass protests.
The election is the second this year in the oil-rich Gulf sta

India formally joined China in asking its airlines to boycott the European Union's carbon scheme, confirming what a senior Indian government source previously told Reuters and stoking a diplomatic row over the issue.
"Though the European U

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has urged the Indian government to boycott next year's London Olympics because of the event's sponsorship deal with Dow Chemical company, according to local media reports.
Indian Olympic